Mobile App Designed by Mercer University Pharmacy Professor is First to Provide Customized Drug Information on Demand

Service to Launch at Health 2.0 Fall Conference Sept. 24 in Silicon Valley

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Oct 02, 2014, 10:00 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A professor in Mercer University's College of Pharmacy has developed a mobile application and website, InpharmD™, that provides customized, on demand, evidence-based responses to clinical questions from health care providers.

InpharmD logo (PRNewsFoto/Mercer University)

The website and app allow users to type in any medication-related question – including questions about disease states – and receive an evidence-based answer within a specified time period. The application also includes an automated topic search feature, allowing the user to learn tips, facts and the latest news about medications from around the United States and world.

The service launched Sept. 24 at Health 2.0's eighth annual Fall Conference in Silicon Valley, California.

Health 2.0 selected InpharmD™ to participate in "Launch!," which gives 10 health care technology startups the opportunity to demonstrate their product in front of a live audience. Ashish Advani, Pharm.D., clinical assistant professor at Mercer and founder of InpharmD™, represented InpharmD™ in the competition.

"Currently such a service is not commercially available," said Dr. Advani. "Existing drug information websites and apps do not offer customized drug information, and existing drug information centers that provide customized information do not presently offer a website and mobile app as a means of communication. With this endeavor, we aim to promote the exchange of drug information in a way that has never been done before."

The new application comes at a critical juncture for health care providers. Currently, the United States spends over $3 trillion on health care, roughly 18 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). By 2022, health care spending is estimated to rise to approximately 20 percent of the GDP. On the other hand, the World Health Organization recently ranked the United States 37th out of 191 countries based on performance, and looking ahead, data show the U.S. health care system improving more slowly than that of other countries.

"We believe that better access to better information leads to better health care decisions," said Dr. Advani.

With an estimated 91 percent of U.S. health care providers using smartphones and 170 million Americans getting health information over the Internet, InpharmD™ is designed to target patients and providers at the point of care, whether it is before, during or after a medical visit.

Mercer University and the Mercer Health Sciences Center provided Dr. Advani the time and resources needed to develop the application. H.W. "Ted" Matthews, Ph.D., senior vice president for health sciences at Mercer, said the application is greatly needed.

"The cost associated with poor medication management is in the billions of dollars," said Dr. Matthews, who is both a pharmaceutical scientist and a registered pharmacist. "The health care industry is now acutely aware that both patients and providers must become better informed about medication therapy. Our hope is that this application is part of the solution that will move us closer in that direction."

Health care providers wishing to register for a free three-month trial can request an invitation via the following link: https://www.inpharmd.com/waitlisted_provider/new. For more information about InpharmD^TM, contact Dr. Advani at [email protected] or (678) 547-6223.

About the College of Pharmacy

Mercer University's College of Pharmacy is ranked No. 4 among pharmacy programs at private institutions in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report. The College offers doctoral degrees in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and pharmaceutical sciences (Ph.D.). Founded in 1903 as the independent Southern School of Pharmacy, the school merged with Mercer University in 1959 and in 1981 became the first school in the Southeast to offer the Doctor of Pharmacy degree as its sole professional degree. In 1988, the College launched its graduate program, offering the Ph.D. degree in pharmaceutical sciences. The College is one of four health sciences units within the Mercer Health Sciences Center. With an enrollment today of more than 650 students and a distinguished faculty of basic scientists and clinicians, the College of Pharmacy houses seven centers focusing on research, teaching and learning. The College's motto, "A Tradition of Excellence – A Legacy of Caring," frames its philosophy of providing excellent academic programs in an environment where every student matters and every person counts. For more information about the College, call (678) 547-6244 or visit http://pharmacy.mercer.edu.

About the Mercer University Health Sciences Center

The Mercer Health Sciences Center became operational on July 1, 2012, and includes four academic colleges – medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and health professions. The Center enrolls more than 1,700 students, employs more than 400 full-time faculty and staff, and graduates more than 500 physicians, nurses and nurse educators, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical therapists, family therapists, public health professionals, and biomedical scientists each year. The Center's commitment is to integrate professional education among its future health science professionals by eliminating the traditional silos that have divided them. The Center believes this team-based and patient-centered approach to training health care professionals best serves the needs of patients and ultimately saves money, time and lives. For more information about the Center, visit http://hsc.mercer.edu.

About Mercer University

Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,300 students in 12 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing, health professions, and Penfield College of Mercer University – on campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah – and four regional academic centers across the state. The Mercer Health Sciences Center includes the University's medical, nursing, health professions and pharmacy schools. Mercer is affiliated with four teaching hospitals – Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The University also has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. www.mercer.edu